Blood: My Best Friend 3
by Smileyfax
Summary: In the wake of the events of Man of the House, Quinn fights to preserve what's left of her family, no matter what it takes.
1. Chapter 1

Hospitals smell weird. I don't like being in them.

But I had to visit Daddy. I had something very important to do.

"Quinn Barksdale, to see Jacob Morgendorffer?" I told the nurse receptionist lady.

"He's in the same room as usual, sugar," she answered me with a friendly smile. I'd been in to see Daddy before, of course. I thanked her and took the elevator up to the long-term care ward.

The weird hospital smell was strong up there. It's the smell of bleach and blood and crap. I don't know why they bother with the bleach. I shudder every time I came to visit Daddy.

"Hi, Daddy," I greeted him as I entered his room. He didn't respond. Daddy was in a coma for three months, ever since he and Jane...I shook my head, to try and forget about it.

"I'm doing good in school," I told him. "I have to keep a low B average to stay in the Fashion Club - I've told you about Sandi and her anti-brain attitudes - but that's no problem. Daria's doing..." I hesitated, before I realized there's no point in sugar-coating it. "She's doing crappy as hell, Daddy. Whenever she's not at school or here visiting you, she just stares at the walls in her room doing nothing. I overheard Mom talking to one of her teachers on the phone or something, and her grades are slipping. Like, Cs and Ds, Daddy. Daria's a huge brain, and you KNOW she shouldn't be getting those kinds of grades."

I looked out the window. I wondered, don't they have windowless rooms for the coma patients? Shouldn't window rooms go to people who can actually use 'em and stuff? Maybe it was just because me and Mom and Daria still visited Daddy.

"It's all your fault, Daddy. You just couldn't keep your hands off Jane. Did you take her in with you and Daria just so you could get your thing in her? Daria may have forgiven you, but I sure as hell haven't!" I sighed, a little exhausted from my outburst. "I think Daria's all sad and stuff because it's like you're dead, I mean BRAIN dead, and the doctor guy said you're never gonna wake up. But you're not really dead. It's like you're a vampire who sucks on Daria, you know? Instead of her blood, it's like, her happiness or something."

I opened up my backpack and took out a book. It was a manual on all the machines Daddy needed to stay alive. "Mom got this the other day when the hospital cleared her to take you home. It's supposed to happen in a few days, once the special bed mom ordered arrives. I've been reading it a lot, Daddy." I stood up and went over to the heart monitor. "I know that this button mutes the machine, so that nobody can hear the beeping. Not even the nurses." I pushed the button, and the beeping went quiet.

I pulled one of the pillows out from under Daddy's head. "I'm sorry for doing this, Daddy, but this is for Daria. I have to protect her, like she protected me. I know how terrible it is when nobody will protect you." I leaned over and kissed him on his forehead. "Goodbye, Daddy." I put the pillow over his head.

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It begins.

I want to extend my thanks to Lord Yellowtail, for beta-ing this chapter and giving me some useful pointers. Thanks! :D 


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey Earl, hand me that knife."

XXXX

I woke up from the nightmare with Daria curled around me. Every night since the funeral, she's slept with me. At first, all she did was cry. After a while, though, she started talking, and I started talking.

I never asked her about Daddy. I knew from Mom that he apparently went nuts from the Vietnam War. I wanted to know more about him - I only got a chance to speak with him for a few minutes, and he wasn't interested in talking to me after I called Daria a dyke. But I didn't want to make Daria cry again. Not until she'd put some time between him and her.

I did ask her about her and Jane. She totally denied being gay for Jane, but come on. They were practically arm-in-arm together in school (before cousin Erin's wedding, anyway), and there was a rumor that Jane had carved Daria's name into her chest. Daria said that the name thing was true, but she was sooo lying when she said she didn't like Jane 'that way'.

She really misses Jane. We don't know where she ran off to, but she still goes to school. Daria tries to talk to her, but she always slips in and out of classrooms just as the bell rings, and Daria's legs are too short to keep up with her.

I gently shook Daria awake, since it was time to get up and get ready for school anyway. I let her have the shower first, as always. I don't want her to see what I look like after I come out of the shower.

XXXX

"Yeah...uh-huh, Sandi...yeah..." It was lunch time, and I was mostly ignoring Sandi and the rest of the Fashion Club, as I kept one eye on Daria to make sure she would eat her lunch. (She had gotten better about it since the funeral; in addition, her grades had started to go back up too).

"Is that so, Quinn?" Sandi asked me snottily.

"Huhwha?" I asked, turning to Sandi upon hearing my name.

"I asked," she stressed with annoyance. "If anybody had a problem with holding our next meeting at my house. What, may I ask, is wrong with my house?"

I floundered for a second before deciding to play the dead dad card. "I'm sorry, Sandi," I said, bowing my head in apology. "It's just...I was thinking of Dad..."

Sandi frowned. "Uh, don't worry about it, Quinn." Stacy started to tear up and sniffle, making Sandi shoot her a dirty look. She turned back to me and put an awkward hand of comfort on my shoulder. "Uh, look Quinn...if you want, you can, like, take a fashion sabbatical, and nobody would blame you, and stuff."

"Yeah..." Tiffany echoed.

I wiped imaginary tears from my eyes, reached up, and gave the hand of hers on my arm a reassuring squeeze. "Thanks, Sandi, but I'll be okay. Your house sounds good."

Sandi nodded. "Uh, okay then. Moving on..."

I turned back to Daria.

Jane was there. She was smiling. And standing with a boy.

Daria was not smiling.

I abruptly stood up and marched over, ignoring Sandi and Stacy's calls. Jane noticed me as I arrived. "Quinn! How are you?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm just peachy, Jane," I snapped. "Not much going on in my life, except for my dad DYING, you know, little things like that."

Jane flinched, and for a second, I saw guilt in her eyes. The mask slid back up, though, and she gave me a sad face as fake as the one I'd given Sandi. "I'm so sorry for your loss," she said, actually hugging me. "I heard about it, but I just..."

She stood back and put an arm around the boy. "Anyway, I just wanted to introduce you - both of you, now," she smiled at me. "-to my new boyfriend, Evan. I met him after joining the track team."

"'Sup," Evan grinned. He didn't extend his hand, but I wouldn't have shaken it anyway.

"I hope you guys can make it to our meet tonight!" she said as they turned and left. Evan gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

"I don't like him," I said aloud. "What you you - holy crap!"

Daria's hands were balled up into fists. Blood was starting to drip down onto the cafeteria floor from her clenched fingers, as her nails dug into the palms of her hands.

XXXXXXXXXX

This is apropos of nothing, but upon reviewing the transcript for See Jane Run...I had no idea that Jane said 'pissy'! Such a cuss word for that show! (Yes, I am a child).

Also, I have the sinking feeling I've used the "Fist Blood Fingernails Palm" thing before, but I'm not sure if it was in the MBF series, or something else altogether. I'm hoping for the latter! 


End file.
